fewer

American  

[fyoo-er] / ˈfyu ər /

adjective

1. of a smaller number.

   fewer words and more action.

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pronoun

1. (used with a plural verb) a smaller number.

   Fewer have come than we hoped.

Commonly Confused

See less.

Etymology

Origin of fewer

Middle English feue, feawe. fewe fewere, Old English fēawera, genitive plural of fēawa few; -er ⁴ ( def. )

Example Sentences

“We have fewer clinicians than we do patients, and that disparity is going to increase.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 4, 2026

Around 40 percent of patients taking baxdrostat reached healthy blood pressure levels, compared with fewer than 20 percent in the placebo group.

From Science Daily • Apr. 3, 2026

For a factory working a large apartment project, those fewer percentage points might add up to a quarter million dollars or more.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 3, 2026

There are fewer people in the bureau, which has offices dispersed across the country, and they’re trying to tackle the same scale of data as they do in normal times.

From Slate • Apr. 3, 2026

Even fewer would guess that they were being used by the same secret group.

From "The Woman All Spies Fear" by Amy Butler Greenfield